GONE OUTBACKSONBISYBACKSON.- C.R. Summary (Sean S Kim) This chapter introduces “Bisy Backson” as a figure that always is on task to do something and tries to save time, but ends up having nothing actually done in the end. As an example, Hoff portrays Christopher Robbin’s note to his friend that states: “GONE OUT / BISY / BACKSON.” In addition, Hoff gives an example of an old man who starts to run in order to get rid of his footprints and the shadow, but they still remain. He runs until he passes out and eventually dies. If he were Pooh and thought like a Taoist, the man would have just stayed in one place without light to get rid of both the shadow and the footprint. Through these examples, Hoff shows us that just like Pooh, if one thinks in a simple manner, the answer might just be a bit closer than one thinks.
In short, this chapter highlights the idea that simple thinking in Taoism is the right way to go about doing things instead of staying busy all the time. Staying busy all the time and constantly moving around is totally against the idea of Taoism. This chapter describes this through the examples of the “Old Man and his Shadow”, the “Unreachable Honey Jars”, “Eeyore’s Journey to See the Uncarved Block”, "The Teahouse vs The Hamburger Stand" and other stories.
In conclusion, Bisy Backson is the type of character that is actually trying to save time, but totally wastes it all in the end. Ultimately through this chapter, Hoff explains an important tenet of Taoism: simple thinking and relaxation leads to ultimate long term happiness instead of one sided happiness in health or success.
“The clouds above us join and separate, The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns. Life is like that, so why not relax? Who can stop us from celebrating?” - Lu Yu Theme Analysis (Soyoon Kim) “All work and no play makes Backson a dull boy.” (92) “Gone out / Back soon / Busy / Back soon” (96-97) “Back out / Gone soon / Busy / Gone soon” (96-97)
“Bisy Backson” is literally “Busy Back Soon” misspelled. The notion of “Bisy Backson” is a person who works all day without any play. Like the quote on page 92, “All work and no play makes Backson a dull boy” meaning that one cannot be happy if one works all the time. Instead of living to enjoy the rewards that they reap, Bisy Backsons live to reap rewards and then reap more rewards. In order to gain these rewards, Backsons must look to the future to put himself before others instead of looking towards the present and focusing on present-day matters. This applies to the fast-paced lifestyles of many people today. Living in a globalized world, we must come to realize that we ourselves tend to live with this attitude as well. We are constantly on a search for ways to "save time, money, energy" for the future while what we should be doing is focusing on the present and looking towards the future for guidance instead of setting unreachable and unattainable goals for ourselves. This theme shows that we need to take a step back instead of just looking forward in order to set ourselves straight on our path through life.
"I was having an awful dream," he said. "Oh?" "Yes. I'd found a jar of honey...," he said, rubbing his eyes. "What's awful about that?" I asked. "It kept moving," said Pooh. "They're not supposed to do that. They're supposed to sit still." "Yes, I know." "But whenever I reached for it, this jar of honey would sort of go somewhere else." "A nightmare," I said. "Lots of people have dreams like that," I added reassuringly. "Oh," said Pooh. "About Unreachable jars of honey?" "About the same sort of thing," I said. "That's not unusual. The odd thing, though, is that some people live like that." "Why?" asked Pooh. "I don't know," I said. "I suppose because it gives them Something to Do." "It doesn't sound like much fun to me," said Pooh. (98-99)
The Unreachable honey jars are a symbol of the “rewards” of a Bisy Backson. Devoting their lives to evading the laws of nature by attempting to “save” time, Bisy Backsons never reach full happiness because they are constantly pushing their rewards away. Pooh’s dream manifests the main idea of a “Bisy Backson”: an individual cannot reap their rewards if they work all day with no play. The theme represented in this excerpt from the chapter is that of “happiness” in terms of different lifestyles. The author comments on how living the life of a Bisy Backson will not ensure that you achieve maximum happiness. Instead, you will not be able to reach the Unreachable honey jars. Hoff says, “The odd thing, though, is that some people live like that" -- these "people" referring to Bisy Backsons: those who are always "Around the next corner, above the next step" and in their own minds, "ahead" of everyone else.
“Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches to-day to save nine tomorrow.” - Henry David Thoreau (108)
This quote by Henry David Thoreau also provides evidence of how the theme of "time" plays out in this chapter. Like Tao, Thoreau questions why people live in such a hurry to get things done when what they should focus on is the present. The fact that we are striving to starve ourselves before we are even "hungry" is a problem as well in that we are thinking too far ahead and thus lose sight of what is more important.
Discussion Questions (Brian K Kim)
What, in your opinion, is a "Bisy Backson?" Are you yourself a Bisy Backson?
What does the author mean when he says, "Our Bisy Backson religions, sciences, and business ethics have tried their hardest to convince us that there is a Great Reward waiting for us somewhere, and that what we have to do is spend our lives working like lunatics to catch up with it"? Why would someone strive to earn this "Great Reward?"
Do you think that a Bisy Backson "wastes" time? Is it possible to "save" time? If so, why?
What do the Unreachable Jars in Pooh's dream symbolize? Why are they "Unreachable" do you think?
How is the character Rabbit an example of a Bisy Backson?
Where would you rather spend your time: at a teahouse or at a hamburger stand? Which do you think applies more to Taoist principles?
What does "progress" mean to you and why does the author emphasize it in this chapter?
What is and how can one become a "Taoist Immortal"?
What does the author mean when he states, "the honey doesn't taste so good once it is be- ing eaten; the goal doesn't mean so much once it is reached; the reward is not so rewarding once it has been given"?
Summary (Sean S Kim)
This chapter introduces “Bisy Backson” as a figure that always is on task to do something and tries to save time, but ends up having nothing actually done in the end. As an example, Hoff portrays Christopher Robbin’s note to his friend that states: “GONE OUT / BISY / BACKSON.” In addition, Hoff gives an example of an old man who starts to run in order to get rid of his footprints and the shadow, but they still remain. He runs until he passes out and eventually dies. If he were Pooh and thought like a Taoist, the man would have just stayed in one place without light to get rid of both the shadow and the footprint. Through these examples, Hoff shows us that just like Pooh, if one thinks in a simple manner, the answer might just be a bit closer than one thinks.
In short, this chapter highlights the idea that simple thinking in Taoism is the right way to go about doing things instead of staying busy all the time. Staying busy all the time and constantly moving around is totally against the idea of Taoism. This chapter describes this through the examples of the “Old Man and his Shadow”, the “Unreachable Honey Jars”, “Eeyore’s Journey to See the Uncarved Block”, "The Teahouse vs The Hamburger Stand" and other stories.
In conclusion, Bisy Backson is the type of character that is actually trying to save time, but totally wastes it all in the end. Ultimately through this chapter, Hoff explains an important tenet of Taoism: simple thinking and relaxation leads to ultimate long term happiness instead of one sided happiness in health or success.
“The clouds above us join and separate, The breeze in the courtyard leaves and returns. Life is like that, so why not relax? Who can stop us from celebrating?” - Lu Yu
Theme Analysis (Soyoon Kim)
“All work and no play makes Backson a dull boy.” (92)
“Gone out / Back soon / Busy / Back soon” (96-97)
“Back out / Gone soon / Busy / Gone soon” (96-97)
“Bisy Backson” is literally “Busy Back Soon” misspelled. The notion of “Bisy Backson” is a person who works all day without any play. Like the quote on page 92, “All work and no play makes Backson a dull boy” meaning that one cannot be happy if one works all the time. Instead of living to enjoy the rewards that they reap, Bisy Backsons live to reap rewards and then reap more rewards. In order to gain these rewards, Backsons must look to the future to put himself before others instead of looking towards the present and focusing on present-day matters. This applies to the fast-paced lifestyles of many people today. Living in a globalized world, we must come to realize that we ourselves tend to live with this attitude as well. We are constantly on a search for ways to "save time, money, energy" for the future while what we should be doing is focusing on the present and looking towards the future for guidance instead of setting unreachable and unattainable goals for ourselves. This theme shows that we need to take a step back instead of just looking forward in order to set ourselves straight on our path through life.
"I was having an awful dream," he said.
"Oh?"
"Yes. I'd found a jar of honey...," he said, rubbing his eyes.
"What's awful about that?" I asked.
"It kept moving," said Pooh. "They're not supposed to do that. They're supposed to sit still."
"Yes, I know."
"But whenever I reached for it, this jar of honey would sort of go somewhere else."
"A nightmare," I said.
"Lots of people have dreams like that," I added reassuringly.
"Oh," said Pooh. "About Unreachable jars of honey?"
"About the same sort of thing," I said. "That's not unusual. The odd thing, though, is that some people live like that."
"Why?" asked Pooh.
"I don't know," I said. "I suppose because it gives them Something to Do."
"It doesn't sound like much fun to me," said Pooh.
(98-99)
The Unreachable honey jars are a symbol of the “rewards” of a Bisy Backson. Devoting their lives to evading the laws of nature by attempting to “save” time, Bisy Backsons never reach full happiness because they are constantly pushing their rewards away. Pooh’s dream manifests the main idea of a “Bisy Backson”: an individual cannot reap their rewards if they work all day with no play. The theme represented in this excerpt from the chapter is that of “happiness” in terms of different lifestyles. The author comments on how living the life of a Bisy Backson will not ensure that you achieve maximum happiness. Instead, you will not be able to reach the Unreachable honey jars. Hoff says, “The odd thing, though, is that some people live like that" -- these "people" referring to Bisy Backsons: those who are always "Around the next corner, above the next step" and in their own minds, "ahead" of everyone else.
“Why should we live with such hurry and waste of life? We are determined to be starved before we are hungry. Men say that a stitch in time saves nine, and so they take a thousand stitches to-day to save nine tomorrow.” - Henry David Thoreau (108)
This quote by Henry David Thoreau also provides evidence of how the theme of "time" plays out in this chapter. Like Tao, Thoreau questions why people live in such a hurry to get things done when what they should focus on is the present. The fact that we are striving to starve ourselves before we are even "hungry" is a problem as well in that we are thinking too far ahead and thus lose sight of what is more important.
Discussion Questions (Brian K Kim)